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Monday, June 16, 2014

WIMS Environmental HotSheet 6/16/14

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National / International News

<>President Obama announces the National Disaster Resilience Competition- the nearly $1 billion competition will support innovative resilience projects at the local level while encouraging communities to adopt policy changes and activities that plan for the impacts of extreme weather and climate change and rebuild affected areas to be better prepared for the future.

HUD's CDBG Disaster Recovery Assistance Program- All states and local governments that experienced a Presidentially-declared major disaster in 2011, 2012, and 2013 will be able to compete for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds

<> The freeze is on – Kasich signs S.B. 310, halts renewable and energy-efficiency standards- Heated opposition to the bill has come from all directions. Big manufacturers that use energy efficiency to save on power costs told Kasich the law could hurt them. Critics voiced concern that the rules will make it harder for the state to meet new clean-air regulations from the EPA. Scientists from across the country wondered aloud why Ohio chose to be the first state to renege on its renewable standards.

<> Pollinators More Important to Crop Yields than Fertilizers- (Beyond Pesticides, June 16, 2014) As pollinator week begins, the critical importance of pollinators is exemplified in a recent study out of the University of California, Berkeley. Not only do pollinators help increase crop yields. . .

<> National Lab Shows RPS Pays Off at Low Cost- Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) have been tremendously successful in driving both renewable energy investment and deployment of renewable resources in the U.S. Two-thirds of all non-hydro renewable capacity. . .

¨Sierra Club v. U.S. EPA- 6/13/14. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Case No. 13-1014. Petitioners challenge the Memorandum re: the Cross-State Air Pollution Ruleon procedural and substantive grounds. The Panel ruled, "The court lacks jurisdiction to consider their challenge because petitioners fail to show they suffer injury that is imminent or certain as a result of the Memorandum, and therefore they lack standing to sue. Accordingly, we dismiss the petition for review."